And then there were 4....

Final Four Baby!

And how do the Stilley Girls feel about it? "We feel good, oh we feel so good, uh!"

Keep it up boys! Only 2 more! :)

Much Love,
Jenny, Anna and Ashley

Look what I can finally do!

I think I did grow taller when I was at my grandparents houses. I can finally turn on lights without a chair :)

Love,
anna

2 weeks

We were in Italy for 2 weeks. 2 weeks is a long time in the life of a one and two year old and WOW how much they change during such a short time. Here's what we noticed as different in our girls:

Anna's changes were more subtle compared to Ashley but she still "grew up" during that time apart. We noticed that she is talking more clearly, has longer hair and is even more goofy- if even possible! We also think she grew taller!

Ashley has become a toddler. She is no longer putting things RIGHT up to her mouth to suck on anymore (relief!). She is so fun to watch play and since getting back we have noticed her playing more imaginatively with toys, her walking is more smooth, she is practically running, she "answers" one sentence demands (for example I asked her to go get her pants and bring them to me and she did), she definitely put on more weight, her hair is so curly, she is so aware of everything going on, she is attempting sounds and words, she will sit on your lap through an entire short board book and when she wants you to read to her she will bring you a book, turn around and sit on your lap. It's just awesome!

We had so much fun in Italy but it sure was nice to get back and be with our girls!

Much Love,
Jenny

I love this picture of Ashley....

It reminds me of one of my favorites of Anna which just happens to be taken at the same age (13 months)

Such cuties :)

Lovies

These two LOVE their lovies! Wherever they are, their lovey is almost always RIGHT by their side. And trying to find a time to wash them... nearly impossible..... And boy do they LOOK loved :)

Ashley loves her bear and she is so funny when she does her classic "bear dive" into bear. She will dive on him head first onto hardwood floor, tile, concrete; it doesn't matter she loves her bear so much and she wants to hug and cuddle with him. And if she doesn't have bear, ask her where he is and within minutes she will find him! Bear has always been Ashley's favorite "baby."

Anna loves her bunny and just within the last couple of months she has named him her favorite of all her babies. When she can't find him she will ask "where MY BUNNY?" Yes, his name is not bunny, it's MY BUNNY! Bunny is extremely well loved :)

 

 

Much Love,

Jenny

All Packed Up for Italy! :)

I went to Italy for 2 weeks and all I had was this bag on my back! (And thank god it's all I brought because it made the traveling between towns and on trains SO MUCH easier then if I had had a suitcase). I had gotten this backpacking pack as a wedding gift and it was so nice to finally use it!

Believe it or not, we did not have to check a single bag on the way to Italy (on the way home it was a different story since we were traveling home with liquids). On occasion I tried to remind Rob that he doesn't know how easy he has it with me and this was definitely proof of low maintenance I can be :) :) He just laughs at me when I tell him this!

So in order to fit all my clothes, packing became a serious art form. I was bound and determined to not have to do laundry while there and to not repeat many clothes. Mission Accomplished.....

My method.... 7 different freezer ziploc baggies that looked like this.

Each of the 7 bags contained:
*2 pairs of underwear
*2 pairs of socks
*2 tank tops
*1 long sleeved shirt
These seven bags would get me through 2 weeks easily (one bag was for 2 days) and I would only have to reuse the long sleeved shirts once each!

In addition to these 7 bags, I packed 2 pairs of jeans (plus the one I was wearing), my favorite black casual/used to be work pants and 2 pairs of yoga pants. And for tops, 2 fitting sweatshirts (I should have only packed one), 1 light sweater (totally didn't need it but wore it just to say I did), 1 light Northface pullover fleece, a zipper fleece and a rain coat (luckily I didn't need it because the weather was perfect!)

And when the ziploc bags we emptied, they became my dirty clothes bags...... perfect! And to squish the air out I just sat on them... nothing like using the bum to my advantage!

I really couldn't have packed much better and was pretty thankful we did it this way when I saw tourist after tourist struggle with their suitcases on the trains, the cobblestone walkways and in the train station. Plus, we were able to run much easily with the backpacks on and believe me, we had to run one too many times to catch a plane/train/ferry.

MuchLove,
Jenny

PS I am not posting a huge post about Italy... I really don't have the time with packing. I did keep a really detailed travel journal and took over 1500 pictures so if you are interested, I can share sometime in person! I will post my top 10 or so favorite things about Italy and what I learned about Italy sometime in the next week or so.

St. Patty's Day

Happy Week Late St. Patty's Day!

And believe us, it took Irish LUCK to get a picture like above because most of the time mommy was taking pictures Ashley was doing what she does best; antagonizing Anna! Just see below...

Please check out Anna's mush mouth. It;s becoming quite the common look around here lately!

 Mommy and Daddy were in Italy on St. Patty's Day and mommy was pretty bummed because she likes taking holiday pictures of us. But don't you worry, we "celebrated" (okay, just dressed in our St Patty's gear) this morning for pictures so she can have a late 2012 St. Patty's Day picture of us.

Anna was a hoot and actually copied mommy and the way she wanted her to pose for her individual picture so you can read her shirt in the picture. Mommy couldn't believe how Anna was a little posing model :)

And as for Ashley, mommy just snapped away and hoped to get a decent one.

Love,
Anna and Ashley

PS. On REAL St. Patricks Day we were at Mom and Papa's house and had corned beef and cabbage for dinner with the Horton's. Mommy loves that dinner and thinks that she has to make it so she can get her corned beef and cabbage fill for the year :) Here Anna is with Kate on the REAL St. Patty's Day.